HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Evil Under the Sun Hercules Parrot Investigates
Year: 1982
Director: Guy Hamilton
Stars: Peter Ustinov, Colin Blakely, Jane Birkin, Nicholas Clay, Maggie Smith, Roddy McDowall, Sylvia Miles, James Mason, Denis Quilley, Diana Rigg, Emily Hone, Barbara Hicks, Richard Vernon, Robert Dorning
Genre: ThrillerBuy from Amazon
Rating:  5 (from 1 vote)
Review: A woman's body has been found on the Yorkshire Moors, and all evidence points to her murder, but the crime goes unsolved even though the world famous detective Hercules Poirot (Peter Ustinov) is called in to investigate. While he is there he is asked to look in to another case, of a large diamond that was supposed to be insured until it was discovered the gem was no diamond at all, but paste. The man behind this is Sir Horace Blatt (Colin Blakely) so Poirot ventures out to the Adriatic to meet with him and find out what's up...

This was the third in the series of Poirot movies - the Miss Marple adaptation The Mirror Crack'd is sometimes linked in with these - after the megahit Murder on the Orient Express and less successful but still profitable Death on the Nile, and this time the Agatha Christie purists were less pleased at the treatment their favourite author suffered at the hands of the filmmakers. This was a loose adaptation, and for the first half at least screenwriter Anthony Shaffer, whose best known works for the movies were The Wicker Man and Sleuth, preferred to concentrate on arch humour rather than an atmosphere of mystery.

It was almost as if nobody could take this seriously, so they opted to behave as if it were all a big lark which none of the audience would be wise to watch on the level that Christie would have wanted, more like Murder by Death than any proper whodunnit. For some viewers, this is the source of delight, seeing these talented thesps let their hair down and trade witty barbs, leaving the actual murder verging on an afterthought as long as the scenery was attractive, but for others it was frustrating. Why should we be interested in the identity of the murderer when it was only Poirot who could barely rouse himself to look into it with any conviction?

Actually, while this took Christie as the source of fun, some of Shaffer's lines did indeed raise the laughs they were intended to, and if you wanted a mindless romp to while away a lazy afternoon, Evil Under the Sun was the movie for you. The cast was certainly impressive even if a fair few had their better days somewhere behind them, and Ustinov obviously relished the opportunity to play the loveable know-it-all once again, the role fit him like a glove after all. Once he reached the island where all the trouble went down, the stars paraded across the screen in circumstances befitting their stature, most glammed up to the nines in period costume and oh so elegant when they were not being bitchy.

If it's easy to spot who the victim will be, the film undoubtedly made us wait for their demise as for a while it seems as if they've forgotten this is meant to be a murder mystery and were enjoying themselves too much to bother with such trifles as plot. The main bone of contention for those assembled in the resort is the arrival of stage siren Arlena Marshall (Diana Rigg), who they all have a grudge against, but have any of them taken enough umbrage to actually bump her off? Among those trying not to look suspicious were James Mason and Sylvia Miles who wanted her for their show, Denis Quilley who is married to her and seeing her go off with another man (Nicholas Clay), whose mousy wife (Jane Birkin) is less than pleased, and Roddy McDowall as Roddy McDowall. In truth the culprit was fairly obvious, but in a way that would at least offer the audience the sense of self-congratulation that they had spotted them. The music was retooled Cole Porter.
Reviewer: Graeme Clark

 

This review has been viewed 4247 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
  Stuart Watmough
Paul Shrimpton
Darren Jones
Mary Sibley
Enoch Sneed
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
   

 

Last Updated: